Or HaChaim on Exodus 6:13/אור החיים על שמות ו׳:י״ג

1 וידבר ה׳ אל משה ואל אהרון, G'd spoke to Moses and to Aaron, etc. First of all we need to know what G'd said to them, secondly what did the Torah mean when it added :"He commanded them to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh, etc." According to Shemot Rabbah 7,3 G'd informed Moses and Aaron about how intractable the people could be and how they were apt to heap abuse on their leaders. Moses and Aaron should therefore lead them בנחת, in an easy-going manner. G'd also told Moses and Aaron not to be disrespectul to Royalty, i.e. to the person of Pharaoh. These comments are purely homiletical. Furthermore, where is G'd's response to Moses who had questioned the point of this whole mission? The very least G'd could have told Moses was that his logic was faulty! Whereas it is possible to construe G'd's silence as disapproval of Moses' reasoning, we cannot do so in this instance. Let us look for a moment at the verse that follows. Assuming that Moses had not been concerned about what G'd would answer him in response to his question "how can Pharaoh listen to me if even the Israelites do not listen to me?" Why wouldn't G'd have continued immediately with what He had to say in verse 29? What is the whole point of the Torah repeating Moses' question again in 6,29-30 unless Moses had not received an answer from G'd to his קל וחומר, his logical argument?

2In view of the above I believe the correct explanation is that G'd did reply to Moses' argument that the Israelites had not listened to him, and even to his second argument, that Pharaoh would most certainly not listen to him either as long as he was still afflicted with his speech defect. We need to understand G'd's reply thus: וידבר ה׳ אל משה ואהרון, G'd equated Moses with Aaron in their mission so that Aaron would speak to Pharaoh (just as he had spoken to the Israelites as Moses' mouthpiece) Seeing that thus far the Israelites had not listened to either Aaron or Moses ויצום, He commanded them, He appointed them as "kings" over the Israelites so that the people would accept their authority forthwith. We find something similar in Samuel I 13,14 where Samuel told King Saul that he would be supplanted and that G'd had looked for someone else (David) whom "G'd appointed as leader for His people" i.e. ויצווהו ה לנגיד על עמו.

3When G'd added the words להוציא את בני ישראל, He meant that the reason Moses and Aaron would have to wield the kind of authority only a king can have was in order that He should be able to take the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses would have the authority to deal with anyone who refused to leave Egypt, for instance. At the same time Moses' and Aaron's authority would also ensure that Pharaoh could not refuse them. It is even possible that when Moses referred to the Israelites who had not listened to him, he referred to his lack of legal authority to force them to leave Egypt when the time came, and that he was already aware that there would be such Jews. When we consider all this, G'd did indeed answer Moses' claim that the Israelites did not listen to him by saying that as of now they would be under orders to listen to him. At the same time, G'd instructed Moses not to address Pharaoh as someone who appeals to him but as someone who ordered Pharaoh to carry out his instructions.